Advisory Board Meeting
The Santiago Center’s Advisory Board (AB) met in mid-December in a lively discussion led by Safwan Masri, Executive Vice President for Global Centers and Global Development at Columbia University. The gathering was attended by 12 members, including Peter Morse, Chief of Staff to the Vice Chairman of Banco de Chile, and the following Columbia alumni: Verónica Cabezas (TC’10), Professor of Education at Universidad Católica; Georges De Bourguignon (MBA/MIA’17), Corporate Development Vice President at Quiñenco S.A.; Francisco Díaz (GSAPP’13), Professor of Architecture at Universidad Católica; Diego Flores (MPA’12), head of the Protected Areas Department at Ministry of the Environment; Claudia Heiss (GSAS’03), Director of the Career of Political Science at Universidad de Chile; Andrea Insunza (JN’13), Professor of Journalism at Universidad Diego Portales; Jenny Mager (MPA’12), head of the Mitigation and Emission Inventories Department at Ministry of the Environment; Daniel Matamala (JN’12), News Anchor at CNN Chile; Paula Pacheco (MPA’12), Social Policy Specialist at UNICEF Chile; Juan Somavía (MIA’98), Manager of External Affairs and Government Relations, Copper at Anglo American; and Conrad Von Igel (MPA’07), Managing Director at Universidad Católica’s Anacleto Angelini Innovation Center.
Special Guests included Graciela Ibáñez (JN’08), President Columbia Alumni club of Chile; Manuel Blanco (LLM’96), Partner at Aninat Schwencke y Cía. Ltda., Juan Luis Contreras-Sabal, Corporate Finance Manager at Imel Steel Group; and Andrew Germak, Director for Global Funding at Columbia.
During the meeting, Safwan Masri updated the board on the current state of the Global Centers network, which in 2019 will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a series of academic events on Campus. Karen Poniachik, the Center’s Director, detailed current and upcoming programs, initiatives and research projects and highlighted expected faculty visits with expertise on water management, mental health, renewable energies and education.
Graciela Ibáñez spoke in length about the efforts to reach out to the local alumni network while Georges De Bourguignon gave details about the MBA Chile 2019 gathering which will be hosted by Columbia in early April. All members actively engaged in a conversation that, among many topics, also covered the potential of education exchanges with Teachers College, the upcoming topics that will be covered by the “Future of Journalism” series, and the Centers’ funding challenges.
To see the pictures gallery click here.